Lily Pad Lake Trail

Lily Pad Lake is a 3-mile round trip through lodgepole and aspen to a pair of small lakes at the edge of the Eagles Nest Wilderness, starting from a residential street in Wildernest above Silverthorne. It is the easiest wilderness lake in Summit County, with a view of Dillon Reservoir and the Tenmile Range on the way, and it is the hike to do on the first day before the altitude has settled.

From the trailhead at the top of Ryan Gulch Road, the trail enters the trees and climbs briefly, then rolls along the east flank of Buffalo Mountain with little net gain. It crosses Salt Lick Gulch on a footbridge and passes an opening with the best view of the day: Dillon Reservoir below, the Tenmile Range and Quandary Peak beyond it. The wilderness boundary sign is about a mile in.

The first lake, at about 1.5 miles, is the one with the lily pads: shallow, marshy, and covered in yellow pond lilies in July and August. A larger, clearer lake sits a few hundred yards beyond it. The trail continues south another 3 miles to the Meadow Creek trailhead near Frisco, which makes a 4.5-mile one-way hike with a car shuttle or a bus ride back. Most people turn around at the second lake.

From I-70 exit 205 in Silverthorne, go north on Highway 9 to the first light, turn left on Wildernest Road, which becomes Ryan Gulch Road, and follow it 3.6 miles up through the neighborhood to its top, where the road curves at about 9,800 feet. The Lily Pad Lake trailhead is signed on the left; the Buffalo Mountain trailhead is a short way farther. Parking is on the street and limited; be careful not to block driveways, since the neighborhood complains and the town tows. The Summit Stage bus stops in Wildernest, a short walk below. No fee or permit for day use.

Dogs are allowed on leash inside the wilderness, which begins a mile in; the neighborhood is strict about leashes on the street too. Kids do well here: short, mostly flat, and a lake with things to look at. The lake is shallow and warm enough to wade, but it is marshy and the shoreline is muddy. Moose are common in the willows around the lakes; give them the trail. There is no toilet at the trailhead. Buffalo Mountain, the 12,777-foot dome above the trail, starts from the next trailhead up the road and is the range's one popular summit. The Gore Range page has the rest.